Legacy
by Black Stormraven
Summary: Dooku remembers his first "daughter" to protect his second. Entry for pileofsith's Sith Family contest.


Silence was not an uncommon guest in this wing of Dooku's palace on Serenno. He liked it quiet, free from the auditory pollution of servant droids and visiting dignitaries he only barely tolerated. Only a handful of beings, organic or not, were allowed to set foot in these chambers. The cavernous study was home to books and records of all kinds, all subjects, and all formats. Being surrounded by so much knowledge from all manner of peoples and times was a welcome weight most days. But even the most vast and varied library could not answer all questions.

Dooku sat there now, his back to the books and scrolls in favor of gazing out the window that took up the majority of the back wall. At first he seemed to be studying the patterns of the raindrops that struck the transparisteel and sped down the panes in rivulets. Or the dense forest that lay outside the courtyard's walls. But a closer look would reveal that his gaze was beyond anything the eye could see.

In fact, his vision was filled with images of a young girl, one making her first successful block with her lightsaber. A girl focused so intently on perfecting her footwork during a kata that she didn't notice the older Padawans sneaking up behind her to dump cups of water on her head. A girl, now a young woman brimming with barely-contained excitement during her first off-world mission. A young woman losing herself in the Force as she took the lives of twenty Mandalorians on Galidraan.

A young woman losing herself to her own emotions, and thus losing her chance to become the Jedi she had trained all her life to be. That young woman, her body collapsed in a lifeless heap at his feet as Jango Fett looked on dispassionately.

"Master." Visions of the fair-haired young woman vanished in a snap as the present crashed back around the Count at the sound of that voice. He did not turn around, however. "Master, the droids and I are ready to leave for Muunilinst. Reports say that a pair of Jedi have arrived and are attempting to negotiate with the Banking Clan."

A brief flash of that same young woman crossed his mind again at the excitement in those words. Asajj Ventress was just as ambitious and bloodthirsty as his last apprentice, just as ruthless and vicious. But infinitely more loyal and in better control of her emotions...for now. Dooku knew her well enough to know that the chances of her fate becoming the same as Komari's were very high indeed if she wasn't careful.

"Master?"

Dooku took a breath before answering. He would probably regret this, but... "You will not go to Muunlinst."

Even though his back was to her, he could feel her shock and the beginnings of her anger through the Force like the lick of a flame. "What?"

"You heard me, child." Now he turned to face her. His own expression was unreadable, as always; the same could not be said for Asajj. To the untrained eye, she would have appeared only mildly surprised, but Dooku could see the fury straining to be let out. She had prepared for this mission ceaselessly for two days. Who wouldn't be angry that all that preparation and anticipation had ultimately been for naught?

But there was something else mingled in with that anger. "Have I displeased you, Master?" The fear of disappointing her Master and not knowing what had brought about that dissatisfaction.

"On the contrary," he said flatly as he stood. "You have excelled in your missions thus far. Your skills have been most useful and exemplary."

Asajj dared a step forward. "Then why punish me if I have done nothing wrong? I can accomplish this mission to the letter. You know I can."

Dooku let his eyes settle on the twin hilts that hung from her hips. Those sabers had belonged to Komari, forged by her own hand after she forsook her Jedi indoctrination in favor of the Dark Side. He had taken them from her corpse after he had killed her, a gesture Fett had surely interpreted as taking a trophy. In truth it had been a rare moment of sentimentality that had guided his hands around the curved cylinders. He had intended to keep them as a reminder of both her failure to kill Fett and his own failure to train her properly.

"I am well aware of your ability to follow my orders, child," he told Asajj now. "Your mission has now changed. I will send Durge to Muunilinst to deal with the Jedi and bring the Banking Clan back under our control." He saw her open her mouth to argue, a habit he would need to break her of. "Do not test my patience, Asajj." She snapped her mouth shut and went still, lowering her eyes in deference. Dooku stepped forward to look down at her bowed head. "Your moment will come soon enough," he whispered softly. "Be patient. I have already lost one daughter to impetuousness and believing she knew better than her Master." Asajj tensed, wanting desperately to assure him of her obedience, but once again he cut her off. "I do not say this to be cruel, child, but simply to remind you of your place. I will not lose another daughter to hubris. Am I understood?"

"Of course, Master," she said without hesitation. "Please forgive my insolence."

Dooku allowed his eyes to soften only slightly as he looked down at her. His assassin was undoubtedly one of the most skilled and gifted in his service, but she was still so young, and with that youth came the natural instinct to question and argue. With time, she would come to understand the value of keeping quiet, especially when the time came to present her to Lord Sidious.

He gave one last look at the lightsabers he had given her upon her recruitment. Their last wielder had proven too volatile and unstable to be of use to the Sith. But now they had a new home in the more-than-capable hands of Asajj Ventress. He would make sure to not repeat the same mistakes with her that he did with Komari Vosa.

"You are forgiven," he said at last. "Now go. Inform Durge of his assignment and wait for your new orders."

Asajj bowed low from the waist with a firm, "It will be done, my Master." She then turned on her heel and left the Count alone with his thoughts once again.

Satisfied, Dooku returned to the chair at his desk and let the memories of Komari Vosa, the daughter he never had, fade into plans for the future of Asajj Ventress. As when he was a child in the Jedi Temple, he would learn from his failure with one in order to succeed with the other.


End file.
